Justin Bieber Mourns Young Fan’s Death From Cancer, Recalls Playing Hockey Together

Despite the publicity he’s been getting lately, it might be easy to forget that Justin Bieber does a lot for his fans.

The heartthrob’s Twitter followers received a gentle reminder of that side of him when he tweeted a touching tribute to a young boy named Jake Schafer who died Tuesday morning of neuroblastoma.

“Heard little Jake is up in heaven. The world lost a great kid but I’m grateful I got to meet him. RIP Jake,” Bieber wrote along with a link to a Youtube video of the two of them playing hockey together.

Bieber met his fellow Canadian in 2011 as part of Shafer’s wish via the Children’s Wish Foundation and the two hit the ice and played with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“Today was the best day ever. I got to skate with Justin and the Maple Leafs. It was so fun,” the youngster said at the time.

A blog post on the website Carepages (via Canada’s The Post) announced the sad news that Shafer, who lives in West Grey Ontario, had succumbed to his cancer early this morning and passed away after a three-year battle.

“The sheer strength and determination Jake had to try to live each day taught all of us a lesson to what life is truly all about,” read the notice from his parents. “What a passionate three years it has been.”

No doubt his parents appreciate Bieber taking time out of his ever-busy schedule to meet with their son.

Justin, alas, has been making all the wrong kinds of headlines on his current world tour, which is now in South America. Not only are reports surfacing that he was kicked out of a hotel in Argentina, but Bieber was officially charged with vandalism after spray-painting graffiti on a building in Rio De Janeiro. And then there’s the video that’s since gone viral of the sleeping “Boyfriend” crooner, which was shot by a 26-year-old Brazilian woman who claims she and Bieber slept together .

Despite the hoopla, it’s nice to know Justin hasn’t forgotten those who look up to him.Follow @Infocelebrity on Twitter!